Infectious Smiles

Talking to Dwayne Jackson is similar to the experience of placing your hands around a warm cup of tea. Relaxed, soothing radiance emanates, and you can’t help but smile. Jackson, who heads what he calls the Morale Team, a cohort of four staff members that operate out of the Facilities Office, deals in joy. His currency is happiness — specifically other peoples’ happiness. “We find pockets of happiness,” he explains, “and our goal as the Morale Team is to extend those little bits of happiness to others, making a positive work environment for everyone.”

Jackson, who, last year, transitioned from work- ing as a Collegiate bus driver to Facilities Admin Assistant, bursts with enthusiasm for Collegiate and the work he does in service of helping the School operate as smoothly and as well-polished as possible. “I love talking to people and I love helping people,” he says. “That’s what makes me happy: the people here at Collegiate. And if I can make others happy, that’s another form of service to me.” In establishing the Morale Team, he wanted to extend that joy and connect colleagues across divisions and departments.

The idea of the Morale Team began simply, with a muffin and a small button bearing a yellow smiley face. How do you facilitate a connection with a peer you haven’t met? You bring them a sweet treat. Each month, the team — consisting of groundskeeper and horticulturist Robyn Hartley, bus driver Tonya Hunt, maintenance technician Thomas Jones, custodian Arlean Johnson, and Jackson — selects new faculty and staff members to connect with and deliver their muffins and buttons to. It’s a small act, but it carries weight. It’s about energizing the space that exists between two unfamiliar people. “It’s a format that’s basic. There aren’t any bells and whistles, but it’s major,” Jackson says. “You can’t see someone wearing a smiley button without smiling yourself. You can’t eat a muffin with a frown. It’s about encouraging people to be kind, to smile, and love each other. That’s what it’s all about: bringing people together with a smile.”

Sometimes the smallest gestures have the greatest influence. Jackson hopes that by spreading positivity among faculty and staff, the joy within the overall educational environment spikes. “The people who work in the Facilities Office — who also make up the Morale Team — operate behind the scenes. We change the light bulbs. We move desks. We drive the buses. We rake the leaves. We’re the heart of moving things and making things happen around campus,” Jackson says. “We operate outside of the most important aspect of our campus: the students. But by helping keep our teachers happy, we hope to keep our students happy.”

In his explanation, he leans in, giddy, grinning, and says, “Smiling makes other people smile. So from way up here in facilities, we’re able to pour some joy into the cups of teachers, which supports our ultimate goal of helping students. It’s going to be an infectious, positive movement that goes from person to person to person.”

With more than 400 full- and part-time faculty and staff helping facilitate the mission of the School on a day-to-day basis, Collegiate is a large community. It takes effort to connect with colleagues one might not see regularly. The Morale Team supports that effort with joyful conviction. Walking around campus, you begin to notice the small smiley face buttons pinned on dress shirts and jackets. And Jackson is right: you can’t help but smile. Suddenly that small tug of face muscles begins a conversation between two people. Some kind of warm energy is stimulated, and that’s the work of the Morale Team. “The Morale Team is about bridging the gap between two strangers,” Jackson says. “This is about opening a conversation. This is saying, ‘Hey, have a good day.’ That’s what this is about — connection and spreading joy.”